Wyoming Child Custody Laws and Parenting Plans
Wyoming Child Custody Laws and Parenting Plans
Custody decisions carry more weight than any other part of a Wyoming divorce. The schedule you agree to now — or that a judge imposes — will govern your daily life for years. Understanding the actual rules, not the misinformation circulating online, is the starting point.
The Best Interests Standard
Wyoming courts determine custody using the "best interests of the child" standard under Wyo. Stat. section 20-2-201. The statute explicitly prohibits favoring one parent based on gender. When custody is contested, judges evaluate factors including:
- The quality of the child's relationship with each parent
- Each parent's ability to provide adequate care
- Each parent's willingness to accept all parenting responsibilities
- Each parent's willingness to let the other parent provide care without intrusion
- How parents and child communicate
- The geographic distance between the parents' residences
- The physical and mental health of each parent
These factors are non-exhaustive — judges have broad discretion to consider anything relevant to the child's welfare.
The Shared Custody Presumption That Does Not Exist
Multiple commercial divorce platforms and legal guides incorrectly state that Wyoming now presumes shared physical custody following Senate File 0117. This is wrong.
SF0117, the Shared Parenting bill, died in committee on March 3, 2025 and was never enacted. Its successor, SF0093, also died in committee on March 2, 2026. The Wyoming Supreme Court explicitly confirmed in Peter Augustus Smith v. Justine Delores Smith (2025 WY 128) that there is no constitutional right to equal parenting time and no presumption of shared custody in Wyoming, even between two fit parents.
The 2026 Legislature did pass Senate Joint Resolution 0006, designating April 26 as "Shared Parenting Day" — but this is a non-binding ceremonial resolution with zero legal force over custody outcomes.
If anyone tells you that Wyoming presumes 50/50 custody, they are relying on a bill that failed twice.
Joint vs. Sole Custody
Under Wyo. Stat. section 20-2-201(d), judges can order joint, shared, or sole custody arrangements:
- Joint legal custody means both parents share major decision-making authority (education, healthcare, religious upbringing). This is commonly ordered even when one parent has primary physical custody.
- Joint physical custody means the child spends substantial time living with both parents. The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled in Gurney v. Gurney (899 P.2d 52) that courts are unlikely to order shared physical custody when parents are in active conflict — it requires mutual trust, cooperation, and seamless communication.
- Sole custody grants one parent both decision-making authority and primary physical custody, with the other parent receiving structured visitation.
In uncontested cases where parents agree on a parenting plan, judges typically approve the arrangement without modification, provided it serves the child's interests.
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Building a Parenting Plan
Wyoming does not mandate a specific parenting plan template, but your plan should address:
- Regular schedule: Where the child lives during the school year and on weekdays vs. weekends
- Holiday and vacation schedule: Specific allocations for major holidays, school breaks, and summer
- Transportation: Who drives or covers travel costs for exchanges
- Communication: How the non-custodial parent stays in contact (phone, video calls)
- Decision-making: Which decisions require joint agreement vs. which the custodial parent makes independently
- Dispute resolution: Whether disagreements go to mediation before court
The more specific your plan, the fewer arguments later. Vague terms like "reasonable visitation" invite conflict.
UCCJEA Jurisdiction Rules
If your children have not lived in Wyoming for at least six consecutive months before you file, you may have a jurisdiction problem. Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), Wyoming must be the children's "home state" before the court can make custody or visitation orders.
The home state rule is separate from the 60-day residency requirement for the divorce itself. You could satisfy the divorce residency requirement and still lack jurisdiction over custody if your children recently moved to Wyoming.
If one parent has relocated out of state with the children, or if the children have lived in multiple states recently, custody jurisdiction becomes a complex legal issue that pro se forms are not designed to handle.
HB0083: Sex Offender Protections
House Bill 0083, enacted in March 2025, added a requirement that courts must consider whether either parent is a registered sex offender when determining custody. The law creates a rebuttable presumption that no registered sex offender shall receive unsupervised visitation. To overcome this, the offender must present clear and convincing evidence that unsupervised contact is safe and in the child's best interests.
The Wyoming Divorce Filing Process Guide includes a parenting plan preparation worksheet and a timeline showing when custody documents need to be filed at each stage of the divorce process.
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